Division I - Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering

Innovatives Verfahren zur Stahlbandtrocknung – KIT koordiniert Forschungsprojekt ECCO im Programm Horizon 2020 der EU.

Durch ein neuartiges Ofendesign lässt sich bei der industriellen Stahlbandtrocknung die Energieeffizienz deutlich erhöhen und die Anlagengröße drastisch reduzieren. Die Investitions- und Produktionskosten können mit dem geplanten Verfahren um mindestens 40 Prozent gesenkt werden. Erreicht wird dies durch den Einsatz von Infrarot-Strahlungsbrennertechnologie. Diese energetisch effiziente Methode zu realisieren, ist Ziel des auf vier Jahre angegelegten Projekts ECCO, welches das Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) koordiniert und das von der Europäischen Union mit rund acht Millionen Euro gefördert wird.

KIT Scientists Design Chemical Compounds for Use as Passwords for Encrypted Information – Publication in Nature Communications

In the digital age, security of sensitive information is of utmost importance. Many data are encrypted before they enter the data highway. Mostly, these methods use a password for decryption, and in most cases, exactly this password is the entrance gate for hackers. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) use a new and highly secure approach by combining computer science with chemistry and a conventional encryption method with a chemical password. Their development is now reported in an open access publication in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03784-x ).

Due to Livestock Farming, Germany’s Groundwater Is Polluted with Nitrate in Many Places – KIT Researchers and Their Partners Are Working on a Simple Area-wide Solution.

Nitrate concentrations of our groundwater are among the highest in the European Union. The main reason is overfertilization of fields with feces from livestock farming. Every year, a “liquid manure shower” of 200 million tons goes down onto German fields, the result being too high nitrate levels at one third of the groundwater quality measurement points. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), together with the Foundation for the Environment of Rhineland-Palatinate and an environmental engineering office, are working on a very simple process for the large-scale cleaning of polluted drainage water from agricultural areas.   

With the increased significance of lithium-ion batteries, the pressure on the availabiltity of relevant ressources rises – Publication in Nature Reviews Materials
Lithium and cobalt are fundamental components of present lithium-ion batteries. Analysis by researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) shows that the availability of both elements could become seriously critical. Cobalt-free battery technologies, including post-lithium technologies based on non-critical elements such as sodium, but also magnesium, zinc, calcium and aluminium, represent possibilities to decrease the dependency and avoid the criticality of lithium and Co. supplies in the long term. The researchers present these results in the journal Nature Reviews Materials.

Exotic Plants as Energy and Health Boosters Are Highly Popular among Consumers – Genetic Bar Code Shows Whether Products Are Original

Chia seeds, Moringa powder, Açai or Goji berries, the list of foods with alleged health benefits is increasing constantly. Health-conscious consumers love “superfoods” that are attributed stress-reducing and detoxifying properties as well as properties strengthening the immune system. Now, in the cold season in particular, there is a growing trend of consumers to use not only proven household remedies, such as hot lemon or sage tea, but medicinal plants from abroad, such as Indian basil, also known as tulsi. The problem: The more exotic the foods are, the less the consumer can be sure to have the original product. Mix-ups or product counterfeiting are increasing. For this reason, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed genetic bar codes for superfoods.

Structure of Work Surfaces and Materials and Contact Time Influence Dough Adhesion – Enhancing Food Safety and Productivity of Bakeries.

Christmas time is cookies time. Many people enjoy baking for Christmas. And those who love titbits are happy about the dough rests that stick to kneaders or bowls. To a larger extent, this also happens at private or industrial bakeries. Considerable amounts of dough stick to conveyors and fermentation canvasses. In the worst case, this may result in hygiene problems and production downtimes. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Technical University of Munich studied the effects of contact time and surface structures of different materials on dough adhesion.